While these may look like photographs of large apartment blocks from Eastern Europe, what you are actually seeing are highly detailed artwork on common cardboard. That’s right, Berlin based artist Evol takes discarded pieces of cardboard, tape and grease pen markings intact, and spray paints near photo-realistic windows, doors and light posts with stencils on their corrugated sides. Surprisingly, the many layered paintings on the rough texture come off looking much like the beige facades of well worn buildings in pre-gentrified East Germany.

Evol is making his first non-internet entrance to the U.S., currently displaying much of the work you see here in his Repeat Offender show at Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York City.

Evol has made a name for himself painting utility boxes in major cities to look like the square apartment blocks of eastern europe. When viewed from the correct angle, his appropriated sculptures do appear to be real, often with a full-sized counterpart in the near background. Perhaps Evol’s most famous work to date is the installation he did for the MS Dockville Music Festival in Hamburg, Germany. The piece, titled Nordkreuz (Northern Cross), inspires visions of a tiny set for Inception, with a cross shaped incision cut into a grassy field, revealing his signature building facades inside. The piece is explorable, allowing viewers to walk down into the center of the cut and experience it from below ground level.

Curious to see more? You can see Evol’s work at his site evoltaste.com or catch his latest work on Flickr.

For a peak behind Evol’s very mature creation process, see the entertaining video below:

One of Evol’s more famous pieces, Nordkreuz (Northern Cross). An installation for the MS Dockville Music Festival in Hamburg, Germany.

Benjamin Starr

Known in some circles as the most amazing man in the universe, he once saved an entire family of muskrats from a sinking, fire engulfed steamboat while recovering from two broken arms relating to a botched no-chute wingsuit landing in North Korea. When not impressing people with his humbling humility, he can be found freelance writing, finding shiny objects on the internet, enjoying the company of much-appreciated friends and living out his nomadic nature. He is Managing Editor of Visual News. Follow his movements on Twitter: